A. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed toward a clamp with a hasp for fastening a folded cord or rope. The fastening means is a hinged component of the clamp which folds upon itself and is provided with locking means to maintain it in the folded position.
B. Description of the Prior Art
Various clamps are known in the prior art. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,461,059 discloses a wire clamp consisting of a U-shaped housing open on one side. On two opposed sidewalls of the housing, there is provided a plurality of fins angled backwards so that a wire entrained between the fins can be pulled in one direction, but not the other. Two arms 50, 52 are provided to insure that the wire moves laterally out of the housing. At one end, the housing is formed with an integral closed hoop 64.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,629,909 discloses a plastic wire clamp consisting of two pieces: a) U-shaped member with angled side walls, and b) an insert which is wedged into the U-shaped member. The insert has internal teeth 60 for grabbing the wire. The U-shaped member does not contact the wire itself.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,034,189 discloses a clasp for a wrist band consisting of two clamping members connected by a hinge. The hinge is disposed longitudinally in parallel with the band. On the inside surfaces, the clamping members include spikes 32 for engaging the band.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,136,756 issued to the present inventor discloses a cord clamp with hasp for engaging the end of a cord.
While the aforedescribed clamps may function to attach and to hold wires, they have certain disadvantages. They may require an insert and thus can not be of a single piece construction (U.S. Pat. No. 3,629,909) or they may not anchor a cord or rope in place since they permit the cord to be moved in at least one direction (U.S. Pat. No. 4,461,059). It is also noted that these prior art clasps may not possess means such as a hook for fastening the clasped cord to some other objects such as a wall or a post (U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,034,189 and 3,629,909).